Chapter 648: Forward! Forward! Forward!
Su Yun really did not want to talk to him anymore.
It was what he really thought. That guy, Zhao Yunlong, knew emergency treatment? Nonsense, he was not at ease letting him follow along.
But these words actually came out of Zheng Ren’s mouth and…he could not refute it.
He really held his breath right there and then.
Su Yun closed his eyes and cursed a few more words in his heart. The tiredness of the day swept up like a tidal wave, and he quickly fell asleep quietly.
After a few hours, the rain finally stopped. The sky was still cloudy, and Zhao Yunlong keenly noticed that after the rain stopped.
He observed the road condition and saw that the ice on the road gradually disappeared. Before daybreak, the temperature had already warmed up. At the very least, there was no more hail, making him feel somewhat relieved.
That was because the hail stopping would determine whether the mission could be successfully completed or not.
The situation would indicate whether they could save at least three to four more hours of traveling time, he thought to himself.
At 3.40am, Zhao Yunlong woke everyone up and continued to move forward.
After the rain, although the icy path on the mountain road had completely melted, it was still slippery to the point that it felt unstable with every step.
It took them nearly two hours to walk through the rugged and slippery road.
The sky was already beginning to brighten. As they moved forward, the huge lake became more and more obvious.
The more they could see, the more shocking it got.
It was as if tons of water were trapped in the air. Once a rock was not strong enough to hold it and collapsed, there would definitely be another disaster.
Zhao Yunlong used the GPS and satellite phone to report the situation to the newly established headquarters. He focused on the mountain road and the lake.
One could say that they were heading into a dead end. Even if there were large-scale construction machinery, it would be impossible to open up a road in a short period of time.
From a certain point of view, the mission had been completed.
Countless teams braved aftershocks, mud-rock flows, and hail to advance. They were constantly trying and making mistakes.
The wrong choice would be borne by the team. The loss of personnel or time was something that would affect the overall situation.
Even so, the mission had failed but the team still needed to advance. They had to try to enter the earthquake’s epicenter as soon as possible so they could understand the situation there and rescue the survivors.
It seemed to be a long way to go around the lake.
Zheng Ren felt that even if there were no mountains there, even rats could not run around it, let alone horses.
They moved forward in silence. The exhausted people looked as if they had been undergoing surgery for a whole day. Every step was extremely difficult.
Suddenly, Zheng Ren heard a buzzing sound.
Dragonflies. Hundreds and thousands of dragonflies flew towards him from the forest not far away.
Zheng Ren frowned. He used his hand to cover his eyes and stopped.
“Ah!” a cry of surprise sounded.
Reporter Sun was already extremely tired. She moved forward in a daze. Suddenly, she encountered countless dragonflies and was shocked. She wanted to dodge but ended up twisting her ankle. She lost her footing and fell to the ground.
Fortunately, this place was not as narrow as the mountain path and was considered flat ground. Reporter Sun had only sprained her ankle, but it was not fatal.
Zheng Ren turned around and glanced at Reporter Sun. The system panel had a faint red color. It was diagnosed as a sprained right ankle.
It was nothing. It was just a small problem, a soft tissue injury.
However, she was already exhausted. Coupled with her sprained ankle, she was completely unable to follow the team forward.
If it was flat ground, Zheng Ren would not mind carrying her on his back. She was only about a hundred kilograms. It was not a big deal.
However, this was a mountain road. It was wet and slippery, and they had just gone through hail. Zheng Ren carried a military first aid kit, water, and dry food. He had to walk a hundred times more carefully. Carrying a person on his back? It was impossible.
Zhao Yunlong and Zheng Ren had the same thoughts. They did not even have the intention to comfort Reporter Sun. After a simple physical examination and finding that there were no substantial injuries, they asked the photographer to stay behind to protect her.
He told the cameraman that he had already informed the emergency command headquarters and their exact location had already been marked by GPS. Very soon, a rescue team would come to carry out the rescue.
No matter how stubborn Reporter Sun was, she could only accept reality.
She had also seen the situation along the way. If she was willful and continued to walk forward, she would definitely be a burden. Even if she was not afraid of death, would she still lead the entire team to death?
Tears fell. In front of the camera, she cried like a child.
Her clothes were wet from the rain and she was wearing a camouflage suit. It looked a little funny. Her originally exquisite hair was stuck to her face, her lips blue and purple from the cold. She looked particularly miserable.
However, she respected Zhao Yunlong’s arrangements. She and the cameraman moved to a flat location with a slightly higher terrain. Looking at the team moving forward without looking back and the water and food that everyone left behind, she still wanted to do something.
She randomly tidied her hair. It was rare to see her face facing the sky as it was captured by the camera.
“This is the frontline reporter, Sun Zeli, reporting to you.
“After the earthquake, the frontline headquarters set up a few teams to survey the terrain and rescue the injured victims. After a night of trekking… I’ve now sprained my ankle and can’t follow the team. The team of doctors from the Imperial Capital Hospital are still moving toward the earthquake center to rescue…”
She habitually smiled in front of the camera, but when she smiled, her tears flowed even more violently.
The cameraman immediately changed the camera lens. In the picture, more than ten people were stepping on the gravel at the edge of the lake and continuing—
Forward!
Forward!
Forward!
“The road ahead is more dangerous than the one we came from,” Sun Zeli cried and said. “But…”
As they were talking, a figure in the advancing team slipped, and a mountain rock collapsed. He did not step on it properly and slid directly into the lake.
Before Sun Zeli could cry out in surprise, a hand grabbed the man’s collar and pulled him up with one arm.
No one knew how deep the lake was. If he fell down, even if he knew how to swim, the chances of him coming up again were not high.
Sun Zeli knew all that.
Almost… It had almost been so close.
The cameraman was also stunned. He was indeed a military doctor. Lifting a person with one arm was not something an ordinary person could do.
“Be careful.” Zheng Ren patted Su Yun’s shoulder and said calmly.
Su Yun was also frightened. During that time, his feet slipped and he struggled for a while. However, he did not expect that the ground was not solid at all. He could not muster any strength at all during the drop. With a strong force, a rock slipped down. The ground below him became empty and he was completely stunned.
He looked down with lingering fear. The lake water was dirty and he did not know what was there.
He was almost far away from the n.o.bel Prize. Su Yun smiled. During that time, he was still thinking about the n.o.bel Prize. How deep was his resentment?
The scene was recorded by the photographer.
Zheng Ren and Su Yun did not know, and neither did Zhao Yunlong. They continued to move forward, bypa.s.sing the lake and disappearing into the fog.
The road became more and more difficult. Looking around, the surrounding environment was even more chaotic than when they had just entered the mountain.
The entire landscape had changed. Zhao Yunlong could even tell from the military map that there was a small river there. The river had also changed its course. It took a big circle in the distance and ran away.
The shock, astonishment, and other emotions had long disappeared. In that moment, everyone was stunned. There was only one thought in their hearts—
Forward!
Forward!
Forward!